RESUMO
ObjectivesTo assess the extent to which public support for outbreak containment policies varies with respect to the severity of an infectious disease outbreak. MethodsA web-enabled survey was administered to 1,017 residents of Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was quota-sampled based on age, gender and ethnicity. A fractional-factorial design was used to create hypothetical outbreak vignettes characterised by morbidity and fatality rates, and local and global spread of an infectious disease. Each respondent was asked to indicate which response policies (among 5 policies restricting local movement and 4 border control policies) they would support in 5 randomly-assigned vignettes. Binomial logistic regressions were used to predict the probabilities of support as a function of outbreak attributes, personal characteristics and perceived policy effectiveness. ResultsLikelihood of support varied across government response policies; however, was generally higher for border control policies compared to internal policies. The fatality rate was the most important factor for internal policies while the degree of global spread was the most important for border control policies. In general, individuals who were less healthy, had higher income and were older were more likely to support these policies. Perceived effectiveness of a policy was a consistent and positive predictor of public support. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that campaigns to promote public support should be designed specifically to each policy and tailored to different segments of the population. They should also be adapted based on the evolving conditions of the outbreak in order to receive continued public support.
